Nov 23, 2012

Brunei - Peat seen as viable energy source

PEAT dug up during road construction and house building could be a
viable energy source, researchers at Universiti Brunei Darussalam said at a
sustainable energy conference yesterday.

PhD students Cheng Hei Ing (pic,
L) and Tasneem Zehra (pic, R) said 18 per cent of Brunei's land area was
covered with peat, which could be burnt to produce electricity or used to
filter toxic chemicals out of drinking water.

The postgraduate students said
peat taken from three locations around the country was combustible enough to
use as an alternative to oil and gas, and could even fuel electric power
plants.

"We found that the energy
content of the peat is similar to that in other countries such as Greenland and
Ireland, where they use it for energy purposes such as heating and electricity.
They burn it for fuel generation," said Cheng, who presented her findings
at the Sustainable Future Energy Conference 2012 in Gadong.

Cheng, 25, said developers often
discarded large amounts of peat when building roads and housing, which could be
better used.

Canada produces 34 per cent of
its alternative energy from peat, while in Ireland, large-scale domestic and
industrial peat usage is widespread, she said.

Cheng also pointed out that peat
could be used to absorb toxic substances, such as heavy metals and dyes, out of
the water supply.

"Methylene blue and
malachite green are two very common dyes used in the textile industry. They are
very toxic, especially if they are released into the water system," Cheng
said. There is concern that burning peat which acts as a carbon sink, removing
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere would release significant quantities of CO2
back into the atmosphere and add to global warming, but Cheng dismissed the
claim. "According to our study, it is more environmentally friendly than
burning coal and fuel oil and it has a low carbon content," Cheng said.
However, peat is not considered a renewable energy source or biofuel by the
United Nations or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which
classifies it as a fossil fuel because it is extracted in industrialised
countries far faster than it grows. Cheng and Tasneem are currently halfway
through their PhD research at UBD.

"If we get a good result
(from our research) ... it could be possible to find some investors because
it's quite a waste to throw peat away. We might as well use it for some other
purpose," Cheng said.

QURATUL-AIN BANDIAL

The Brunei Times

Business & Investment OpportunitiesYourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC), Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN.
Since we are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, if any request, please, contact directly Dr Christian SIODMAK, business strategist, owner and CEO of SBC at christian.siodmak@gmail.com. Many thanks.